


A Promise Made

by soldatssassenach



Category: Bucky Barnes - Fandom, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), domestic!bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 04:36:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17400149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soldatssassenach/pseuds/soldatssassenach
Summary: Bucky enjoys domestic life with his family when a part of his past comes back to haunt him.





	A Promise Made

Days like these were the days I often cherished most often. Perhaps it was trite, and there may have been a time when I would’ve agreed with that sentiment. But too much had happened in between that time and now. 

Funny how humdrum activities like harvesting fresh lavender from the garden or folding freshly dried laundry will bring out the pensive side in people. And yet all it took to break the reverie was the sound of a precocious little girl’s voice counting her numbers aloud with her face buried in crossed arms over a tree bark. My precocious little girl. And if she was counting, it could only mean…

“Hey doll,” said my husband —right on cue, his massive form right crouching in the cranny between the wall and the washer. “How’s our little seeker doing?” He asked conspicuously, a playful grin that only our little girl could bring out in him. 

I smiled as I leaned forward to look out the window that overlooked our modest laundry room. “She’s struggling but she’s persistent. I think that’s 8 in…”

“French,” he smiled. 

“Including Spanish and Italian, how many languages do you plan on teaching her?” 

Bucky smiled. “The more she knows the better. Don’t you agree? Besides, she seems to like it. Or she probably just likes the quality time with her daddy. I should appreciate it, seeing as how maybe one day she’ll grow tired of being around me.” 

“I haven’t tired of it. Why should she?” 

Perhaps it was the moment of just gazing at each other, or perhaps it’d been your super soldier’s gargantuan legs off his burly sinewy body that couldn’t completely hide in the cranny of his hiding spot. But it was that precise moment that Bucky’s little cover had been blown. 

“I found you,” a tiny little squeal burst out with giddiness. 

A fake pout had etched onto Bucky’s lips. “You’re so good at this mon petit chou.” 

“Oh papa, you has to pwactice,” she had explained matter of factly, her hands resting on her hips. “One mowh time?” She had asked expectantly, as though she were a teacher encouraging a student.

“Not now little one,” you explained. “It’s time for dinner. Go wash up.” 

“But mama…”

“Don’t argue with your mama Isabelle,” Bucky replied, crawling out of the space with ease. “Come on. Do it without whining and I’ll let you help set the table.” 

This seemed to do the trick as I watched my husband and daughter jet off toward the kitchen. As I set the last of the folded up hand towels atop the stack on the dryer, a soft buzzing caught my attention. A faded light illuminated through the pocket of Bucky’s jacket. Thinking it might be work related, I went forward to grab it when I noticed the caller on the screen. 

“Hey Steve.”

“Hey Y/N,” he replied. And even if I couldn’t see his face, I could hear the smile in his voice.

I don’t know how much time had passed while on the phone with Steve. But it took Bucky and Isabelle calling out my name to remind me of dinner. I walked into the kitchen to see Isabelle’s idea of what setting the table looked like. Mixed and mismatched plates, cups and silverware were laden across the dining table as we sat down. 

Taking a sip of the tiger printed soda cup we got from the zoo, as Isabelle always saw to it that her daddy got the biggest cups, Bucky set his drink down and asked. “Who was that on the phone babe?”

“It was Steve.” 

“What’d he want?” Bucky replied, his jaw tensing as his mouth furled into a tightly pressed grimace. 

I could tell already that Bucky was upset. His strict no-calls-after-6pm rule had been broken by none other than his best friend. But since it was Steve, the room for the benefit of the doubt was begrudgingly taken into consideration. 

“We can talk about it later,” I replied, gesturing to Isabelle dipping her crinkle cut fry into the gravy boat she filled with ketchup. A slight imperceptible nod, Bucky acquiesced. “But nevertheless, your godfather says hi,” I added, a pointed look aimed at Isabelle. “He’s waiting for you to reply to his letter.” 

“Oh yeah, I fohgot,” Isabelle giggled. 

In a blur dinner had come and gone. And it wasn’t until after the two of us put Isabelle to bed and we were back in our room that it’d been time to finally address the elephant in the room. I told Bucky about what Steve had wanted. Of course I didn’t have all the details but it was a delicate assignment that needed his attention. Nature of his job and all. I wasn’t stupid. I knew what Bucky’s line of work entailed if it meant he was working with Steve. And Bucky himself would never have let our relationship, hell, our marriage even happen as far as it had if there wasn’t a degree of honesty between us. No bullshit. 

But his family, our family, it’d come first for him. He never had to tell me. It was always obvious. Except deep down, a part neither one of us wanted to admit, we both knew there’d come a time when it wouldn’t be enough anymore. 

“I think you should go with Steve. He said so himself that he wouldn’t have called you if he didn’t need to,” I murmured, slinking up behind him as he sat at the foot of the bed to wrap my arms around his chest. The warmth of his touch from his fingers grazing my wrist brought a true comfort I’d always relish. And one that I bittersweetly acknowledged that I’d miss were he to go with Steve. In my selfishness, I almost came close to begging him to stay, knowing he’d say yes if it was what I really wanted. 

“I can’t leave you and Iz,” Bucky murmured into the back of my hand. 

“You know, Izzy isn’t the only one in this house that has a good teacher,” I softly had grinned a gentle kiss into his shoulder. “I remember you telling me where to find your knives, your guns. How to push the table to make sure it blocked the door. How to block the windows…”

“And if none of that worked to delay them?” 

“I know where the panic room is. Take Izzy and call the only number that’s on the phone in there.”

“Buck,” I whispered. “I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that wanted you to stay here with us. But if there’s someone out there who needs help, and I knew you could but kept you here with us because I didn’t want to share you… I couldn’t live with that. Steve was right to call you. You are a hero. He sees it, I see it. Izzy sure as hell sees it.”

“I don’t care about everyone else seeing me a hero…” 

“Maybe not,” I agreed. “But you do care about making sure there are less and less people like the ones who made you what you used to be. You’re never going to be completely worry free if you keep looking over your shoulder… or if you keep that stupid after-6pm rule,” I said, teasing at that last bit. 

With that, Bucky finally turned around with a narrowing glint in his eyes. Leaning forward and making me crawl back toward the pillows, until I was halted by the headboard, and caged in by his arms. 

“Funny… seeing as how that was your idea,” he teased. 

Reaching up, I cradled the side of his face until my fingers treaded through his soft hair. When the heel of my hand reached his lips, Bucky turned to lean into my touch, his lips pursing against my skin. 

“Okay okay, maybe it was,” I rolled my eyes playfully before relaxing my gaze. “Izzy and I will be here when you get back Bucky.” 

“Promise me,” he whispered, lowering his lips down to the hollow of my throat, his mouth a mere breath away. 

“I promise Bucky. You have a home to come to when you are done with this.” 

Bucky crashed his lips against my skin, tiny kisses peppering along the column of my throat before he made his way up to my own lips. Having met in a frenzy, I held Bucky as close to my body as I possibly could, clinging to him as though he were the only one who could keep me tethered to the ground. Nothing about our goodbye was tender or soft. Urgency dictated every move and caress. Bucky needed my promise in more than just my words. And I needed every reminder of his warmth, his scent, his taste on me. When we reached our crescendo, the fading flutters of our high washing throughout our bodies, we laid in bed beside one another, staring at each other as we rested on our sides. We repeated our promises. He even had me recite where he kept all safety measures. Anything to give each other comfort. But when the time came, even though he protested, I got out of bed with him while he got ready to go meet Steve. The sun still had not risen yet I went to the kitchen. I don’t know why since it wasn’t like a typical housewife making her husband a lunch as he went off to work, but I guess it helped me in some way. Helped me to feel some kind of useful. 

“A reuben?” I heard him ask behind me just as I was finishing wrapping it in foil. I turned to see him smiling at me, standing neath the threshold of the entryway to the kitchen, dressed in his all black tactical outfit. 

“It’s your favorite. Like the ones you’d get from that deli in Brooklyn. I mean unless you don’t want it…” I said singsongy. 

“I didn’t say that. I’m just surprised,” he grinned. He reached into his duffel and pulled out an envelope with my and Isabelle’s name on it. “Ahh, this is stupid. I’m not… I mean, I know it’s not like I’m going off to…. I know this isn’t like it was in ’43 but…”

“It’s okay,” I murmured, taking the envelope from him, pulling his hands along as I brought them to my lips. “You’ll come home Bucky. And we’ll be here. And if not, I will kill Steve for calling after 6pm.”

It was that last line that did the trick as Bucky finally let out a small shaky laugh. “Promise?” 

“I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first time writing Bucky again in a long time. For the longest time I didn't have the mojo to write for Bucky since I felt all the stories had pretty much written lol and I wanted to explore writing for other characters. But writing for Bucky is what got me into fanfiction so there will always be a sense of loyalty and love and gratitude to him. So I'm happy this worked out. I hope you like it.


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